The nose is creamy with a little cedar (à la 2004), not bad. The palate is fresh and complex and medium weight but very long. Blind, this would be hard to place as a 97. This is very good.
Comments for this entry
Chambertin
2005 Boisset Jean-Claude Chambertin
This wine has only been in bottle for about one week so should get better and better in the bottle. These grapes from these 70 year-old vines (that border the vines of Domaine Leroy) were harvested a full three weeks after the bans de vendanges, yet only come into the cuverie at 13.5°. The screw-cap version is oversold, so this is tasted from the cork sealed bottle. The nose develops a really creamy base though I didn’t stay with it long enough to see much more than a little extra width. Understated excellence on the palate, the multiple flavours just cling and cling to the inside of your mouth leaving a soft coating over your teeth. Will be fantastic.
1998 Bouchard Père et Fils Chambertin
Deep colour, a core of garnet with a ruby rim. The nose is very deep, and quite reduced. With time the nose is much fresher with higher-toned jellied fruit – almost confiture – creamy black-skinned fruit forms its base – this is now lovely. The nose continues to really impress, the higher tones have become ever redder though the base remains black and creamy. A fresh palate with laser-like intensity – this is excellent – plenty of velvetty tannin and certainly longer than Grivot’s 97 Richebourg, though that length (like the Richebourg) is quite oak based and initially slightly bitter. The fruit needs five minutes to provide a nice sweet black impression, still quite primary, but it starts to come through on the finish too – with just an edge of creaminess, there are plenty of tannins bathing the mid-palate and finish but they seem quite round. The last bottles should wait a minimum of five years in the cellar, probably much longer – but they will be excellent.
2005 Clos Frantin Chambertin
Medium-plus colour. The nose is impressive with mineral and faintly animale notes mingling with dark fruit – very complex. Concentrated fruit magnificently covers the tannin. Linear entry to the palate, only subltly widening into the mid-palate before impressively bursting into the multi-dimensional finish. Wow! And I thought the Clos de Vougeot was good – this is fantastic quality.
2001 Rousseau Armand Chambertin
Medium, medium-plus ruby-red. Quite an intense minerally nose that becomes higher toned and I thought just a little lactic but this a short phase before a nice creamier presentation. On the palate there’s a dark aspect to the fruit, good acidity and a nicely expanding and intense presentation in the mid-palate. This is very long with a good creamy fruit flavour. Very nice and accomplished wine – second-best so-far.
1985 Rousseau Armand Chambertin
Medium colour. Feral, yet understated nose at the start. Wide and interesting – it’s not about fruit, though eventually a soft red note comes through, licorice aspects too. On the palate there is a significant additional dimension vs all the previous wines. Interestingly the wildly complex palate is quite narrow until you reach the finish – then it expands exponentially. The texture and complexity on the palate reminds me of a number of 2005’s from Chambertin & Bèze – I suppose there are now 20 years to wait! A tour-de-force of a wine.
2003 Chézeaux Chambertin
The bottle is cold, but the nose starts surprisingly open, a hint of reduction perhaps, but this is transient. Becomes even wider, good depth too – beautiful fruit – sweet and fine. The texture is first-rate, super-smooth tannins dovetail into gorgeously creamy fruit. If there was just a hint more acidity you could guess this to be a 2002 (or maybe 2005 in another year or two). The tannin just shows a little after you swallow. Another gorgeous wine.